Reverse start for AG football

Published: Saturday, August 23, 2014 at 07:19 PM.

AYDEN — There won’t be a repeat of last year’s uncharacteristic 0-6 start for Ayden-Grifton this season.

The Chargers opened their 2014 prep campaign with a decisive 40-14 win against Williamston Riverside, a team that beat Ayden-Grifton 27-20 a year ago.

Ayden-Grifton’s Michael Baker led the Chargers to pay dirt twice in the first half on his first two carries, scoring on runs of 40 and 29 yards, respectively, to give his team a 14-0 lead that it would never relinquish. The 5-foot-9 speedster finished the game with 135 yards on seven carries and nearly had another score in the second-half on a 59-yard carry before he was taken down at the 1-yard line. The junior running back also recovered a fumble on defense and intercepted a Riverside pass in an all-around effort.

“He had a great game,” AG coach Paul Cornwell said in typically matter-of-fact fashion. “He is doing all the little things and being a leader on and off the field. Last year, he did yeoman’s work, and he got a chance to make some plays tonight.”

Baker wasn’t the only Charger racking up big numbers on the ground. Eight different Ayden-Grifton players carried the ball, and the team churned out 433 yards of total offense — all on the ground.

Diquarius Taylor rushed for 98 yards on six carries, including an 83-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, while Modica Whitehurst added 79 yards on eight rushes. Ryan Ennis ran for 42 yards and a touchdown, and quarterback Tijuan Blount added 30 yards and a score in mop-up duty in the fourth. Brandon Hardy also had a 20-yard touchdown run for the Chargers.

“We’re fortunate enough to have several weapons at running back, and I thought they all did an excellent job tonight,” Cornwell said.

AYDEN — There won’t be a repeat of last year’s uncharacteristic 0-6 start for Ayden-Grifton this season.

The Chargers opened their 2014 prep campaign with a decisive 40-14 win against Williamston Riverside, a team that beat Ayden-Grifton 27-20 a year ago.

Ayden-Grifton’s Michael Baker led the Chargers to pay dirt twice in the first half on his first two carries, scoring on runs of 40 and 29 yards, respectively, to give his team a 14-0 lead that it would never relinquish. The 5-foot-9 speedster finished the game with 135 yards on seven carries and nearly had another score in the second-half on a 59-yard carry before he was taken down at the 1-yard line. The junior running back also recovered a fumble on defense and intercepted a Riverside pass in an all-around effort.

“He had a great game,” AG coach Paul Cornwell said in typically matter-of-fact fashion. “He is doing all the little things and being a leader on and off the field. Last year, he did yeoman’s work, and he got a chance to make some plays tonight.”

Baker wasn’t the only Charger racking up big numbers on the ground. Eight different Ayden-Grifton players carried the ball, and the team churned out 433 yards of total offense — all on the ground.

Diquarius Taylor rushed for 98 yards on six carries, including an 83-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, while Modica Whitehurst added 79 yards on eight rushes. Ryan Ennis ran for 42 yards and a touchdown, and quarterback Tijuan Blount added 30 yards and a score in mop-up duty in the fourth. Brandon Hardy also had a 20-yard touchdown run for the Chargers.

“We’re fortunate enough to have several weapons at running back, and I thought they all did an excellent job tonight,” Cornwell said.

The outcome of the game was far from predestined in the first half, as Riverside made the game a one-score affair late in the second quarter on a two-yard run from running back Jeremiah Wilson, who took a direct snap out of the Wildcat formation on fourth down to punctuate a 25-yard scoring drive. The ensuing two-point conversion made the score 14-8 going into halftime.

Early in the second half and trailing by just one score, Riverside made the curious decision to go for it on fourth-and-short from its own 12. The gamble backfired, as the Chargers defensive front stuffed the attempt and gave their offense a first-and-goal from the nine.

Ennis promptly scored on the next play, and just like that, the Chargers were ahead 20-8.

“It’s obviously something they felt like they had to do,” Cornwell said. “We failed to stop a fourth down in the first half, but we made a play this time. I thought we grew up a little bit in the second half.”

Riverside defensive back Ben Cox intercepted an AG offering and scored from the Ayden-Grifton 12 on the Chargers’ next possession to once again make the game a one-score affair at 20-14, but that would be the last time Riverside threatened.

The Chargers scored three unanswered touchdowns to put the game away. All told, Ayden-Grifton out-gained the Knights 433-176 and held Riverside without a second-half first down until the Knights’ final possession in garbage time.

“I thought we were able to do some good things on both sides of the ball,” Cornwell said.